Alternator upgrade

[Relics]

Is there an alternator upgrade for the 1200 Voyager? I've added lights and a high powered stereo system. Any thought? Thank You.

[cranky]

... look for Dollar 4 Dollar under the Tech Page link on home page...

http://tinyurl.com/ybacldtv

[voyager55]

I run extra lights,heated gear,gps and the oem alternator works fine. Doubt you need to upgrade
But find out the total amps you're running to be sure

[cranky]

... and of course you can put in LED running/turning/braking/ lights to
lower your budget.... Best to Ya!! I took out 55W running lights and
put in some blazing Cree style LED running lights and saved 6.1A!!!!!!

[drtechnology]

I just saw this, I only had my Kawa about 3 months now, so I know this is a lil late but might help a lot of people...... Before u shell out a bunch of money to redo alternator and have to take out and put back in one, here's what I did with a 300cc scoot I used to own - (I know, boring, not a real bike lol)....

But what I did was take out the original battery, add 2 Lithium-Ion Batteries (because they were half the size, so 2 fit perfectly) and got an isolator on amazon, and installed that and made sure the engine was on battery 1 - and all radio and 12v accessories (I too added more lights and NOT LED because while they have width they do not have distance, a 100w normal spotlight for off-road use I could see several blocks of the road ahead, if not more, in the dark where there were no lights) - I also installed a smart trickle charger.

What you do is ride normally - if you take more out than your alternator puts in, you will notice the lights and stuff get very dim eventually (many hours into riding, as lithium-ion batts have a lot of ah - least I think so lol) - the reason they get low is NOT that both batteries drained, just because the 2nd one did. Once the 2nd drains and the 1st starts to drain too - the isolator will cut off the current so anything plugged into battery 2 does not also drain battery 1. So this way even if you use more than your alternator puts out, you will never get stranded anywhere with a dead engine battery (Battery 1)

Use the trickle charger to recharge the drained 2nd battery overnight or a few hours during the day and continue on as normal. Easy Peasy!!!

[drtechnology]

Speaking of which, has anyone here used lithium batts in their bike - would 2 fit where one normal or agm battery used to fit?

[Van Voyager]

... and of course you can put in LED running/turning/braking/ lights to
lower your budget.... Best to Ya!! I took out 55W running lights and
put in some blazing Cree style LED running lights and saved 6.1A!!!!!!

Because I don't have a 1200... I'm not sure about the term 'running lights' - are you referring to spotlights/driving lights? If so, which bulbs do they take and can you provide a link to the Cree replacements you used? Thanks.

[cranky]

These look like the ones I got, been a long time, they are off road,
but I haven't been stopped yet!!! I DO have them aimed as to not
irritate folks....

Search Amazon for:
Cutequeen 4 X 18w 1800 Lumens Cree LED Spot Light for Off-road SUV Boat 4x4 Jeep Lamp Tractor Marine Off-road Lighting Rv Atv(pack of 4)

... and I mounted them on the crash bars, they are extra lights, I call them running lights, bright sucka's!!!

I noticed they are for 4) but you will get the idea and can search further.. Best to Ya!!!!

The side label says they are Nilight brand.

[Nails]

Before u shell out a bunch of money to redo alternator

... or on a battery monitor. (Although I did shell out on a AGM battery, which I also like.)

I like this battery monitor. https://www.amervoyassoc.org/forum/view ... 15&t=11850 I installed it where the stock (useless) battery monitor light used to be (behind the red lens on the dash). I could tell right away when I turned on too much electric clothing. (And having all that on High was way too hot anyway.)

[GrandpaDenny]

These are the ones I bought: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1.

[DocSnowFox]

Yes, there is a recommended alternator upgrade. I am doing it within the next two weeks.
OEM Stock is 35 amps. Runs everything a plenty, just fine. Add more available amps that you can gain by swapping in LEDs for incandescent bulbs. But add halogen bulbs and accessories, like i have, and available voltage and amps drop.

The AVA Forum recommended a couple upgrade builders. This one is within an hour of my home in Northern Illinois. The Forum said was $85. That must have been a decade ago. I called Larry, the owner, and he quoted $185 and may stay there or drop, to send out the windings for a rebuild and add more windings coils. He then goes through the rest of the alternator and bearings, etc. When done and ready to ship back to the owner, gives the final price.
Here's the shop info:
Morton Grove Auto Electric/ MG Auto Electric
500 S. Arthur Ave.
Arlington Heights, IL. 60005
Mr. Larry Maddock (Owner)

Web site-> www.mgautoectric.com
Phone: (847) 394-1698

Please let them/ him know AVA recommended him (again).

I've added some accessory lighting to improve both night and day visibility. True Halogen fog lights and Halogen true Driving Lights, when there is no oncoming traffic or I'm out in the curvies and wooded roads in evenings. A true air driven horn, highlighting blue LEDs and some other goodies, I can drain rather than charge. It's been a balancing act sometimes. Thus upgrade will eliminate that worry once and for all.

[SgtSlag]

DocSnowFox, if I remember correctly, the upgraded alternator requires higher RPM's to charge the system -- energy is never free. Just an FYI to keep an eye on the voltage output on your alternator (a voltmeter is your friend). I believe that folks stated that when idling, the battery would discharge, due to low output from the alternator. Will likely only be a problem in stop/go traffic, but something to keep an eye on.

If you shop, carefully, you should be able to find LED's with equal Lumen output, to your Halogen incandescent bulbs, at a lower wattage. LED's pump out more Lumens/Watt, than incandescent bulbs ever will.

I replaced my 55W/800 Lumen incandescent headlight, with an LED: 35W/1800 Lumens. It is also 5,000 K, so Daylight color, not yellow, like the original (3,000 K). To be completely honest, I rarely ride at night. I chose the brightness, and the color, for conspicuity purposes, in daylight (I use an LED headlight modulator -- love it! gets us noticed by plenty of cars which start to pull out in front of us, then stop...). I have ridden in the dark with it, a few times: it was quite bright, and I was not accustomed to the pure white light of 5,000 K, in the dark. It worked quite well, for us, at 11:00 PM, without any streetlights, on a country highway. Never had issues with annoying oncoming cars, either.

LED's are a bit more complex to use due to the Lumens and color temperature qualities. In the old days, all we had were incandescent, and we just looked at the wattage they used. Now, with LED's, we have to choose the Lumens and the color, for our needs. The Lumens/Watt is always higher. When we get into the extremely high Lumen output ranges, the wattage of the LED's reach the old, vastly dimmer, incandescent bulb ranges.

I installed a set of 10W LED running lights on my engine guard bars, several years ago. I use them for conspicuity, but they also light up the road for around 10-20 feet, in front of the bike. A few late rides, on county roads, demonstrated they light up the roadsides, and the ditches, giving a very short sighting of animals. If I installed 20W-30W LED's I'd get much longer reach. Again, I rarely ride in the dark, so I kept their wattage to a minimum. By replacing all of my other lights (except the instrument lights -- will do those when one of the incandescent bulbs burns out), I gained around 1.5 Volts on the charging battery (AGM, so the extra voltage is welcome).

I rarely plug things into my bike's 12V accessory plug (added by me, fused, connected to battery through a secondary fuse block). I have plugged my phone into it a few times, as well as my GPS. My voltmeter has never dipped below 13.2 Volts, though it normally runs at 14.2 Volts, since I converted to LED lights. When it idles, it drops (no accessories plugged in) to 13.1-13.2 Volts. Just some information for you, for future reference. Cheers!

PS:

Be sure to connect your horn through a relay, directly to the battery. By plugging the horn button into the relay, the switch and wires will not get overloaded with current; by connecting the horn directly to the battery, it will get more amps, lower loss, and full blast of volume! Search this forum for information on installing a secondary fuse block, under the false gas tank. Great for keeping things organized, neat, and clean -- and working! LOL! Cheers!

[DocSnowFox]

Sgt Slag,

Thanks for reply.
Yes, the new upgraded alternator I am told by the shop will not act any differently than the OEM, except more windings - more Amps. Same RPMs, they say for the trade off on Amps and Volts.

I have converted incandescent bulbs and headlight to LEDs. All good so far! I really, REALLY like the new LED headlight (and "canbus") for both how bright, lower Amp draw AND the color and brilliance. At night it's amazing. I needed to use the knob to adjust the height of the headlight beam for the first time...very handy on-board tool (nice job, Kawasaki!).

All the other electrical accessories including the USB port, are non-issues for current draw. All good so far?
I am looking for the highly recommended Volt meter (digital) that I found the link for in here, and then deleted the tab before purchasing. More digging needed.

Happy 4th of July, to all!

[Nails]

Yes, the new upgraded alternator I am told by the shop will not act any differently than the OEM, except more windings - more Amps. Same RPMs, they say for the trade off on Amps and Volts.

I'm skeptical that they speak absolute truth here. But I'm sure the alternator will still work. Probably more than you want to read: https://advrider.com/f/threads/klr-400w-stator.173645/.

[DocSnowFox]

Nails,
I read through it all. Yeah lengthy, but sounds like in that case on the KLR, the new Stator is intended to be paired with a (suggested) new Regulator/Rectifier (RR).
Thank you for the link and info. I always like to study and research before going too far down a new customized road.
MG Auto told me they didn't need an upgrade on any other parts, EXCEPT they strongly recommended replacing the OEM 14 Gauge feed supply (I believe he said it was a small 14 Ga) from OEM Alternator to the Positive Battery feed. Since I've already installed my new upgrade Positive and Negative Buss Bars with a 10 Gauge lead, I should have zero problem doing this replacement of the 14 Ga to 10 Ga. Old philosophy of larger pathway, less resistance...let the ions (Amps) flow more easily.

Added: I am leaving for a week to be with my Bride for our 35 Wedding Anniversary Vacay in a private area on Gulf Coast in the newly controversial Florida, due to misbehaving humans and the COVID-19 "hot spot" issues. We expect to not integrate with those places or people at all, intentionally. But I won't be back here for at least a week, like after July 10th. I'll pick up this discussion the week following.
It also occurs to me that I have a good friend, that is an experienced Electrical Engineer. He used to ride motorcycles a lot, but had kids and stopped riding. I think this would be a terrific topic to go over with him before much longer.

Gotta go and final packing before heading to airport.
Happy Independence Day to all. Even with impending limitations due to Covid, we still have freedoms unlike most other countries!
Thanks to those who served.

[Nails]

but sounds like in that case on the KLR, the new Stator is intended to be paired with a (suggested) new Regulator/Rectifier (RR).

That's one take-home: more peak output puts a greater demand on the rectifier. As well as associated wiring.

But the reason I sent it is the discussion about how how greater peak output generally results in decreased low-RPM output, just as SgtSlag said -- and contrary to what your mechanic said. I especially liked the chatter from that vendor who stood up to the crowd. (Unless I actually sent the wrong link?) That guy knew his business ... and was honest.

Anniversary Vacay in a private area on Gulf Coast in the newly controversial Florida, due to misbehaving humans and the COVID-19 "hot spot" issues.

I hear you. See my "The command" thread. I carried my food and slept in a tent. And now I'm asymptomatic but "self-quarantined" anyway. (Annual physical yesterday, and had a nice chat about it with my MD. She thought the bike ride was a swell idea. I hadn't seen my darling since Christmas, as she's marooned in LA.)

Travel carefully, and fergawdsakes enjoy yourselves.

Thanks to those who served.

If not too presumptuous of me ... you're welcome.

[DocSnowFox]

Twas a great trip, but too short of a time.
We stayed away from the throngs and thongs. Apparently the Florida Governor closed the East coast beaches, so "they" drove to the West Golf coast, a half mile down the beach from us or more. Was ridiculous to witness the packed beaches and umbrellas on top of each other. We stayed far away. Had our own good time.
"Good night, Mrs Calabash, wherever you are!"